When the use of motor vehicles as a means of transportation became commonplace, it soon became obvious that such vehicles should be equipped with a warning system to alert the driver of a vehicle that an anterior vehicle is stopping or braking so as to prevent rear end collisions resulting in possible damage to the vehicles involved and injury to the vehicle's occupants. To this end, the well known brake-light was widely adopted and is illuminated when an operator of a vehicle steps on or depresses the vehicles brake pedal to stop or slow the vehicle. Such brake-lights are now generally required to be operational on a vehicle before such vehicle may be legally operated on a public thoroughfare. Such brake-lights convey a clear, unambiguous alert to following vehicles that a driver is braking.
In addition to brake-lights, vehicles are now generally equipped with reverse (i.e. backup) lights to assist an operator of a vehicle when the operator is backing the vehicle up (i.e. operating the vehicle in reverse gear or mode). Such reverse-lights are typically activated (i.e. illuminated) when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear. For example, the reverse-lights may be activated when a PRNDL (pronounced “prendel”) selector indicates that the vehicle's transmission has been placed in reverse gear. The letters P, R, N, D, L associated with the PRNDL selector indicate PARK, REVERSE, NEUTRAL, DRIVE, AND LOW gears.
It should be clear from the above that the well known brake and reverse lighting systems provide valuable assistance to vehicle operators and enhance vehicle safety. It has been realized, however, that additional intelligence may be incorporated into such systems so as to warn drivers of other possible safety hazards and/or dangerous conditions. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an improved brake-light/reverse-light warning system that is responsive to additional driving safety considerations.